For the love of wandering

Ingalls Creek Orchid Hike - May 19, 2007

This 7 mile hike is our first of the 2007 Late Spring (or is it early summer, hmmm? :) Season. We picked this hike because, well....we had never done it -and- it was at a fairly low elevation (highest 3200 feet) -and- a description included a tantilizing tidbit that it could be a potentially good wildflower hike - HA!!! The blooms abounded. The hike follows Ingalls Creek pretty much continuously, the water adding a cool flavor and pleasant (sometimes roaring!) sound to the scenes. One highlight, for me, was our sighting of a wild native orchid - the Western Fairy Slipper! Lovely, delicate, and only 5 blooms were nestling in the shade of the alpine trees lining the trail. Mark's pictures of these are very good, the best I have seen. This hike was a wonderful start for this season, with a spot of geo-caching after thrown in for good measure!